Yonna Swingholm, LCSW, LICSW

Yonna Swingholm is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25 years of psychotherapy experience. She holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Walla Walla University and lists LCSW and LICSW among her credentials. She practices in California and draws on many years working with service and civilian life communities.

Her work is practical and straightforward. She emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and uses cognitive-behavioral techniques to address clear goals. Sessions begin with understanding what the person hopes to change, then choosing methods that fit those goals.

She describes an integrative approach that blends listening with active strategies. Yonna also uses mindfulness and motivational interviewing tools when those methods match a client’s needs. She aims to help people manage anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and life changes with concrete steps they can try between sessions.

Her background includes extensive work with military and special operations communities and experience living and working alongside Native tribes across North America. She is also a certified yoga and meditation instructor and has led seminars on integrating holistic care in healthcare settings.

In session she focuses on collaboration. She helps people identify priorities, experiment with new behaviors, and adjust plans as they learn what works. She encourages practical problem solving for issues like sleep, parenting stress, addiction, career strain, and relationship challenges.

How her approaches translate to online work

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening, empathy, and helping a person find their own solutions. It’s about building a trusting relationship and setting goals together that feel meaningful. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions, and then tests small behavior changes to see what helps; it is often useful for anxiety, depression, sleep, and coping with life changes. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and support stress management.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist collaborates with each person to figure out which methods fit their goals and preferences. That might mean trying CBT exercises one week and a mindfulness practice the next, then adjusting based on what helps.

The practical benefit of online therapy is that it can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life. Confirm the current session options before booking, as formats are not specified here. Online sessions can reduce travel time, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, and make it simpler to attend from a quiet spot during the day. Licensed professionals can adapt worksheets, breathing exercises, and behavioral assignments to an online setting so work continues between meetings.